A Great Makeover Starts with Clean, Quality Brushes

As a builder’s wife I have learned that there is one trade that can make or break a home. In the beautiful custom properties that my husband builds, every detail is done with excellence. Most of his customers know better than to cut corners; seldom does a homeowner say, “I want to do this part myself.” But every once in a while a homeowner feels they may be able to cut costs by doing this one trade themselves: painting.

I did a little of this creative work when I was younger and loved it. It is very rewarding to cover a surface with paint. When we were building our own home I wanted to paint the bedrooms. My husband knew that poorly applied paint could make beautiful craftsmanship suddenly look ghetto. I had to convince him that if I could paint nails, I had motor skills fine enough to cut in walls correctly. And before he would let me have my fun, he bought me quality brushes and told me that I must wash them thoroughly and lay them flat to dry after each use or it didn’t matter how skilled I was, paint can not be applied correctly with poorly conditioned tools.

I wasn’t going to tell him that cosmetologists know all about that, too.

Makeup brushes may not need cleaning after every use, but they, too, should be treated with respect if we expect our “face paint” to be applied correctly.

It’s a common response that most professionals get: whether it’s home maintenance or a makeover, most of us wish we could do as good a job ourselves without having to pay for the service. Well, I’m not sure about any other industry, but I am here to tell you that you can give yourself a professional makeover if you treat yourself like a professional would.

So let me share a few tricks of the trade:

“Blenders” like these reusable Blending Buds, are a great tool for liquid foundation application.

First of all, buy quality brushes and blenders. Like with paintbrushes, it doesn’t matter how skilled you are if you are using disposable brushes, you will not get quality application.

Secondly, care for those tools. Makeup artists are required to clean their brushes after each use. You don’t have to worry about sharing bacterias if you are the only one using your brushes, but bristles that are cleaned and conditioned will not only apply makeup more accurately, but also make the experience more enjoyable. I recommend you wipe them on a damp face cloth after each use and really wash them out monthly before they get too saturated with product or become ratty and disheveled.

Lastly, always store your brushes handle-side down in a cup to keep their fluffiness.

Washing a brush that is used for powder can seem a bit foreign, so let me walk you though this easy process. But before you do this, be sure to apply your makeup, because you won’t be able to use your brushes again until they are dry again.

Step 1: rinse all brushes and blenders to remove the majority of residue.

Step 2: fill the sink (or a bowl, cup, whatever) with warm soapy water. You can use a soap specific to makeup brushes or I recommend your own shampoo or facial cleanser–especially if you have sensitive ski
n. Another common option is dish detergent with a drop of olive, almond oil.

Step 3: add another drop of soap to the palm of your hand, and swirl your brushes into the soap, one at a time, dropping the into the sink.

Step 4: drain sink and rinse each brush thoroughly while separating bristles without confusing their order.

Step 5: gently squeeze water out of bristles from butt to tip and lay flat on towel or hang upside-down to dry.

There are many services–in my field as well as my husbands–that I would never recommend you do for yourself, but every woman should learn the techniques, skills and habits of giving herself a makeover. If you would like more tricks of the trade, please visit my site at www.CatrinaWelch.com and consider having a Supreme MakeOver. You can have Confident Beauty, which doesn’t wear off like makeup does!

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Catrina Welch, Author, Speaker

"I'm an Image consultant without the shopping obsession. I help women and girls overcome confidence conflicts by unveiling the power and purpose of their personal Image Identity (Img.ID) and teaching them to accentuate their authentic beauty so they can forget about their appearance and think about others."